An Acro's Difference
by Flipper Boid Skua
Summary: A young Utahraptor unwittingly cares for a young predator not of her own species, but of a raptor's worst enemy. When the maternal instinct wears, will she accept or reject? Rating to be safe. R&R!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Raptor Red.

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The female Red-Snouted raptor circled her nest, confused. They should've hatched days ago, but were still intact. She nudged one of the eggs with her snout, it's cold shell showing no signs of life. All the eggs were cold and still, not a peep coming from unhatched young. 

The _Utahraptor_ still didn't give up, although it was obvious that it was too late. Her maternal instincts refused to let her quit. She covered the nest with a layer of leaves and went off for a nibble to eat.

_Acrocanthosaurus_ have been in the area lately, in small groups or as loners but they mostly kept to themselves. If she met with an acro, she was wise to keep her distance and the larger dino is more than willing to return the given distance.

Little did she know, the acros will influence her more than she thought neccesary.

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A short distance away from the nest, a mother acro and her mate are also caring for their eggs. They can smell the female raptor, and they hated it. But until their vulnerable eggs hatched, there was little they could do to the raptor threat.

A nearby female _Utahraptor_, obviously breeding, would always stay clear of them, and, respectful of that, they dared not disturb her nest either. There was only one time she went into an uncomfortable distance and had to be chased out: she was recklessly chasing a speedy lizard and had not the slightest intrest of the acros' clutch.

However there was a _Deinonychus _that gave no respected distance and even attempted to steal their eggs on occasion. He was a former alpha male that was exiled from his pack by another male who challenged him. Now he's trying to make a living with whatever he got.

Now he's edging closer to the acro nest, the big beasts unaware of his presence as he was careful to be downwind. The giant carnivores were sitting, the male preening the neck of the female. Cocking his head, the raptor examined the female, making sure she won't take notice of him until he dashed away with one of their eggs.

She was relaxed, her eyes closed in a sleeping fashion.

_Just a little closer, then I'll have it._ he thought to himself, keeping his body as low as he could to the ground. He was eyeing the egg he targeted. One careful step, then another...

The tall grass he was hiding in ruffled with his movements. He paused, tense and ready to run. The male acro jerked his head in the raptor's location, but the camouflage served the tiny hunter well.

Passing the noise as the wind, he proceeded to preen his mate.

That was the moment the deinonych chose to attack. It was a huge risk, but a meal is worth it. He charged the nest and grabbed an egg.

Almost immediatly the male acro spotted him and roared in rage, he and his mate getting onto their feet. The raptor made off as fast as he could, the male of the huge predators already on his tail. The female acro stayed in the nest in case of further raids.

Never before did the paniced raptor run so fast. He had speed advantages, but the gigantic strides of the acro equalled the terms. If he could just get past the river and jump the stones, he might escape.

Just then he stumbled on a multi hole, dug by prehistoric versions of prairie dogs. He dropped the egg, which started to roll down a small hill and next to the _Utahraptor_ nest.

The acro immediatly shot his jaws forward and grabbed the tiny creature in his dagger like teeth. He shook the life out of the thief and went back towards his nest with his prize secured for his mate. It was the perfect present.

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The mother _Utahraptor_ came back to the nest with an aegi, a shrew-like mammal, in her mouth. She spotted the acro egg and cocked her head in confusion.

Dropping her snack, she sniffed the unhatched thing intently. Although her nose told her to get rid of it, a maternal instinct argued and claimed it was her own egg that happened to roll out while she was gone. To make things better, it was certainly alive.

The maternal instinct won out and the giant raptor gently picked up the egg in her claws and placed it directly in the middle of her clutch. This mystery egg was bigger than the other eggs, but that didn't matter. She swallowed the aegi in one gulp and then settled atop her nest, waiting patiently for the day her young would hatch.

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A few days later while close by successfully catching a lizard, the female raptor heard a sound come from the egg. Excited, she ran back to the nest and uncovered the suspected egg from the leaf litter. She heard more chirping like sounds come from within the shell.

She grunted in response and swished her tail in anticipation. The first crack appeared and the raptor bounced from side to side happily.

This will be her first time mothering. Sure it'll be hard without a mate to help, but she's willing to give this her best shot and hope for the best.

She looked around at her surroundings to make sure nothing was sneaking up on her, then turned her attention back to her hatching offspring.

More cracks...a few more...and then...freedom.

She bobbed her head curiously at what looked like a young acro, blind with eyes sealed shut. It sniffed in her direction and made a squeaking sound, begging for food.

Against all of her reasoning, she retreived the dead lizard she caught earlier and offered it to the young one, who let out another squeak as it smelled the food and immediatly gobblied down it's first meal.

Looking around once more, she spotted a dactyl, an _Ornithocheirus_, fluttering nearby, eyeing the young acro. The protective new mother charged in it's direction, snarling. It went off immediatly. Grunting she returned to the sleeping hatchling and sniffed it for the identity that she'll be protecting.

A male with the swirl of blue and green that all acros possessed.

_He's a bit different. But he came from my clutch, so he must be mine. _the giant raptor thought to herself as she laid by the baby's side.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Raptor Red.

And thanks for reviewing, Sanluris. I was never expecting one. And I'm glad you like this story alot. Have you read the book it's based on...? ...:3

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A few days pass since the little acro hatched. He can see now and even wobble around a bit. Of course, that last fact normally got him in trouble. Often, he'd tumble out the nest and have to cry out to be put back in. 

The female raptor never knew that being a mother was so hard. She had to catch enough to eat for both of them and she couldn't travel far. But, everything was worth the trouble. She's obviously doing a relatively great job.

She was scavanging over a dead _Iguanadon_ when she heard the young acro cry out again. She wasted no time to run back to the nest at top speed. Upon arriving, she skidded to a stop and stared at the chick.

The young acro had gotten out of the nest again and was crying while attempting to climb back in. When seeing the adult, the chick tried to woddle towards her, his mobility improving more and more. He stumbled at every other step and fell to a heap when he reached her.

The _Utahraptor_ gave a mental sigh of relief and bumped snouts with the squealing baby. She then picked him up in her jaws and settled him back on the nest, where he looked at her and begged at her muzzle.

After reguritating some of the meat she's been eating, she sat down next to the chick and looked around for any dangers. There was a dactyl near the stream, but it showed no interest in the little family, instead it was trying to capture a lungfish. It's inexperience showed it's youth.

Grunting, she sniffed the air for any further concerns. There was a distant herd of astros and the smell of deinonych was also in the air. She growled in agrivation.

The acro chick paused, looked up at his protector, and sniffed too. He tried to find out which scent was tensing his raptor mother. However, he couldn't distinguish which. There was so many and it could be either of them.

Finally he gave up and sat down. It didn't bother him about having a different style of sitting compared to his mother. She sat upright and he sat with his back almost parallel to the ground.

The raptor gave him a sideways glance, like she always does and bumps him. He falls down, still needing work on his balance. But he automatically bounces back up and presses himself against the raptor.

She gives a careful pressure back and they fall asleep as the calm afternoon continues.

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The real acro mother was sitting, watching her two chicks while her mate was out hunting. He's been gone only a couple of hours and probably won't be back until nightfall. But, here in Tick-Bird Meadow, food was plentiful so there was always a guarantee of a full dinner.

She fidgetted in annoyance and shook herself to get rid of the bugs and ticks trying their luck at infesting an acro. She scatches her muzzle with a hindfoot before standing. Her chicks automatically stopped their game to mimic whatever their mom was about to do.

The female acro learned a technique to rid herself of the parasites about a month ago. There was a reason why this place was called Tick-Bird Meadow. She casually ambles towards the edge of the woods and makes a deep booming call.

A flock of tiny birds called sinorns fluttered and rustled the leaves of a nearby tree. They already learned the routine of this large predator and flew cautiously towards her, circling before landing on her ridged back.

The acro actually had the local female _Utahraptor_ to thank for the tip. What seemed like a short time ago, the acro and her mate heard a weird squawking sound and went to investigate. They spotted their raptor neighbor covered in the birds.

Puzzled, they watched at a distance, surprised to learn what the birds were doing. Who knew that these puny feathered creatures can help save a life by eating all the disease ridden ticks? Finally, the acros charged and the bird scattered and the raptor retreated franctically.

Although most ticks can't penetrate the acro's tough skin and armor, the activity of being groomed by birds was relaxing and a safe way to ensure sickness will not infect the dinos.

The acro's chicks already understood the basics of what's going on: _Flying feather dinos are good- keep them on your back. _That's what the chicks think.

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While the acro family enjoy their moment of relaxation, the raptor mother is ready to teach her chick the ways of the sinorns as well. After waking, she nudges the chick onto his feet and moves out of the nest.

The baby acro is confused. Was he supposed to follow? Seeing his hesitation, the raptor returned and pushed him gently out of the nest. He squeaked in protest and bewilderment, but nonetheless, stood by her.

Slowly, stopping occasionally to make sure the acro isn't falling behind, she leads him to more open spaces. She prefers open land, but nested in the more wooded areas to help keep out other large predators.

The little male chick is practically stunned by the meadow that stretches before him. He's never been far from the nest and never met anyone except his mother. So imagine his surprise to see things like live multis (he's only been fed dead ones) and the gigantic long necked _Astrodon. _

After getting over himself, he looked nervously up at his mom, hoping she would take him back to the woods. No luck. She was determined to teach him one of the most important lessons involving the local flock of sinorns.

Unfortunatly, she spots the flock on her acro neighbor and her chicks. With a sigh, she nudged her own chick back towards the forest. However, the young chick kept looking back. Although he's never met a fellow acro, his nose told him something he never thought before:

_Half of me..._


End file.
